This invention relates to a medical cord management apparatus, and more particularly to medical monitor lead management for the multitude of wires or cords emanating from medical monitors. The purpose of the cord management apparatus is to provide an organized, tangle free, easily accessible storage system for the multitude of monitor leads, tubes, wires and hoses required at various times for medical monitoring purposes.
Medical facilities particularly monitored acute care areas such as ICU, emergency and recovery, have undergone an explosion in monitoring technology. In the past a patient may have had one or two monitor leads attached. Now it is not uncommon for there to be at least four and as many as eight or nine leads attached to a patient. Sensors attached to these leads monitor several functions such as skin temperature, ECG/respiration rate, non-invasive blood pressure, internal blood pressure, oxygen saturation and CO2 levels.
This invention also relates to an apparatus for management and storage of power cords and wires in and around office desks, workstations, stereo systems, entertainment centers, video games and industrial or laboratory workbenches. In many of these locations multiple cords are needed for carrying electrical power between a central device and peripheral devices such as printers, keyboards, speakers, CD players and various instruments. These cords must be managed in a manner to allow easy access in time of need, but stored neatly while the devices are being used in their normal manner.
A problem has arisen in management of these wires when they are not in use and are left attached and dangling from the monitor or central device in an unkempt tangled mess generally referred to as the xe2x80x9cSpaghetti Syndromexe2x80x9d. In the medical environment, removing or disengaging the cords from the monitor when not in use has not proven to be a feasible method for storage and management for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that the sensor attached to the cord is not immediately available in an emergency situation.
In addition, cords stored in a drawer become tangled and lost and are not immediately identifiable. If the cords are left dangling from the monitor, the medical room achieves an unkempt, unprofessional appearance, and again, the cords are unavailable for immediate use because individual cords are indistinguishable. Also, cords left dangling and tangled from the back of a computer, stereo, power tool or laboratory instrument create an unsightly mess and often times create a tripping hazard or fire hazard. In many situations, cords drop from a central processor, such as a computer or monitor, lay along the floor near a wall and raise back up to the remote, peripheral unit. Besides being unsightly, this creates a problem of cleaning the floor when the cords are in the way. A cord holding management and storage apparatus is needed to keep the cords off the floor, but not catch dirt or dust that could fall along the wall.
Medical room rail or headwall systems having basic storage means are known. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,693, a rail system for the wall of a medical room is shown. The rail system has a mounting clamp carrying a hanger arm so that medical equipment may be positioned, retained and/or stored thereon. The arm is a simple, cantilever extension of the rail reminiscent of a shelf bracket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,768 also discloses an electrical medical rail system. This system also discloses a dressing tray attached thereto and depending therefrom.
The dressing tray is a simple box structure with a substantially open front side.
Accordingly, there has arisen a need for an efficient and easily used system or apparatus for temporarily storing and managing the numerous cords associated with medical monitoring. There is also a need for an equally efficient system or apparatus for temporarily storing and managing the numerous cords associated with computers, stereos, entertainment centers, video games and industrial and laboratory workbenches. There is also a need for an apparatus for keeping cords off the floor along the junction between a wall and floor when a cord is used to attach a remote peripheral device with a central device, or for a power cord plugged into a wall electrical outlet and running to an electrical device. There is also a need for producing a cord control and storage apparatus in a cost effective and efficient manner.
A cord storage apparatus comprises a plate having opposed top and bottom sides and opposed right and left sides, and means for attaching the plate to a stationary location on or near an electronic device. The cord storage system also comprises at least one pair of opposed hooks, with one of the pair adjacent the top or left side and the other adjacent the bottom or right side. Each of the hooks includes a stem having a proximal end contacting the plate and an opposite distal end, and an arm extending at a right angle to the stem at the distal end. Each of the arms of the pair of hooks faces away from the other of the pair so a cord can be wound about the opposed pair of hooks.
In one embodiment of the cord storage apparatus, at least one of the hooks also has a longitudinal center line, a means for allowing the stem and arm to rotate about the center line, and a means for locking the at least one hook in a position in which the one hook is pointed away from the other of the pair of hooks. The means for locking the arm and the means for allowing the stem and arm to rotate comprises at least one protrusion extending outwardly from the proximal end of the stem, at least one indentation on the surface of the plate, means for urging the protrusion into the indentation when the protrusion is registered with the indentation and means for limiting the travel of the stem in the longitudinal direction if the stem is pulled away from the plate and rotated.
In another embodiment of the cord storage apparatus, the means for locking the arm and the means for allowing the stem to rotate further comprises a hollow post having a first end, a second end and a length, with the post being internally threaded. The first end of the post is secured to the plate. The underside of the head of a threaded screw contacts the second end of the post when the screw is secure. The stem has a first internal bore extending inwardly from the proximal end with a length shorter than the length of the post, a second internal bore extending inwardly from the distal end having a larger diameter than the first internal bore, and a shoulder between the first and second bores. A wave spring is located between the screw head and the shoulder for urging the stem toward the plate.
In a further embodiment of the cord storage apparatus, the plate has a first front side and a second backside and the hooks are mounted on the first side and the attaching means is mounted on the second side of the plate.
In another embodiment, the cord storage apparatus further comprises a Velcro brand hook and loop strip attached to the backside for storing peripheral items also having a complementary Velcro brand strip.
The invention also provides a new and novel apparatus for storing the wires or cords associated with computer, stereos, telephones, entertainment centers, video games, industrial or laboratory workbenches or the like. The apparatus comprises a plate having opposed top and bottom or left and right sides. For each of the wires or cords, a pair of spaced-apart, opposed hooks is mounted on the plate adjacent the top and bottom or left and right edges. Each of the hooks comprises a stem having a first end in contact with the plate, a second, opposite end and a longitudinal axis. An arm extends perpendicularly outwardly from the stem second end and away from the other of the pair of hooks. Accordingly, each of the wires or cords can be wrapped around the pair of hooks for storage, and the wire or cord can be removed from storage by unwrapping it from its pair of hooks.
In a further embodiment, the cord storage system is used to control and store input power cords or peripheral device leads that usually lay on the floor. The apparatus comprises an elongate flat narrow plate having opposed top and bottom edges and a means for attaching the plate to a wall of a room somewhere slightly above the floor. The apparatus also has at least three upwardly facing hooks located adjacent the bottom edge of the plate, with the hooks being spaced apart a distance that is sufficiently close to keep the hooks from drooping onto the floor. In one embodiment, the distance is approximately 7.25 inches.
In a further preferred embodiment, the plate can be bent into an L shape at or near its bottom to accommodate an electrical surge suppressor that is commonly known in the art. The surge suppressor can either be incorporated into the plate, or it can be a separate item and installed into the trough or ledge created by bending of the plate. Other embodiments of an integrated cord storage system and surge suppressor are also contemplated; such as the surge suppressor being installed in the center of the plate or at either end, or it being mounted flush or extending outward from the plate. In a further alternative, the surge suppressor can be mounted on the backside of the plate, or on a separate mounting bracket associated with the plate.
In another embodiment, rather than being planar, the plate can have portions of the posts molded into the plate. In this embodiment, the hooks may snap on to the molded posts so that no assembly tools are required to manufacture the cord storage and management system. The plate may also have a reinforcing ridge around the outer periphery of the plate. The center of the plate may also have an aperture. The aperture may have a shape that complements the shape of indentations in the side walls, so that if multiple plates are attached side-by-side, a pair of indentations will resemble an aperture.
In another embodiment, the plate may have a reinforcing grid on the inside and grooves near the periphery to accommodate specially designed posts.
In a further embodiment, the opposite pairs of hooks are mounted on individual thin elongate strips of generally planar material. Near the outer edges of the thin strips of material are grooves that will hold the pairs of hooks to a central separating rib member to keep the individual strips of planar material and pairs of hooks laterally spaced.
It is an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for temporarily or permanently storing cords in a manner in which they can be easily stored and retrieved by the operator of the device attached to the cord.
It is the further object of the invention to reduce the clutter and increase the safety associated with computers, telephones, stereos, entertainment centers, video games and laboratory or industrial workbenches by allowing the operators to easily store associated cords on a planer board on hooks, and easily remove the cords from storage.